Bradley Keim left the evidence of his crimes in the laundry room of a Raleigh Hills apartment complex.

Picked up by a stranger, his thumb drive contained more than 1,300 erotic and pornographic images of children, according to court records. Washington County Sheriff's Office members of the multi-agency INTERCEPT team had previously linked 42-year-old Keim to child porn in 2011. Back then, investigators pinpointed Keim's home through his computer's IP address, which had been linked to child porn files online. When they served a search warrant, they found no hard drive.

Deputy District Attorney Andy Pulver told a Washington County judge Thursday that in the layer of dust on Keim's desk in 2011, there was a hard-drive-shaped hole. The suspected evidence missing, investigators moved on. Keim was not charged.

In early March this year, a man picked up a thumb drive he had found in the laundry room of an apartment complex on Southwest Scholls Ferry Road, Pulver said.

Looking to find its owner, the man plugged it into his computer. After finding the child porn images, he reportedly called law enforcement and turned the thumb drive over to deputies.

Some of the pictures were not criminal but personal or family pictures, Pulver said. Among those, a sheriff's detective recognized Keim from the 2011 investigation.

On March 29, deputies served another search warrant at Keim's home. This time, they found images from the thumb drive on Keim's computer. In an interview with detectives, according to court records, Keim "admitted to downloading child erotica and having a curiosity for images depicting children."

He pleaded guilty Thursday to five counts each of first- and second-degree encouraging child sex abuse.

Keim's attorney, Seth White, said when Keim was a child, a teenage neighbor sexually abused him for years. As a result, he said, Keim has dealt with confusion over his sexuality and alcohol addiction.

Keim cooperated with authorities this year because he's ready to address his issues, White said.

"The curtain has been pulled back," White said. "This was probably the greatest blessing in his life."

Keim told the judge Thursday he needed and wanted help.

"I'm not trying to fault-find," he said. "I'm trying to fact-find. There are a lot of questions I'm trying to get to the bottom of."

Disclosing his own experience with abuse was not easy, Keim said, but a necessary step.

"I'm embarrassed as all hell to stand here in front of you, my family, everyone," he said. "It's not too late to get help."

Judge Kirsten Thompson said she believed Keim's claims that he had been abused as a child and that shame had kept him from talking about it sooner.

She sentenced him to six months in jail, followed by five years of probation. In custody since March 29, he is scheduled to be released Thursday.

Thompson also ordered a suspended prison sentence, so if Keim violates the conditions of his probation, a judge can impose up to more than 16 years in prison.

He was was ordered to complete any recommended sex offender and alcohol treatment. He was also sentenced to standard sex offender conditions, including no contact with minors and sex offender registration.

"Mr. Keim can be managed successfully in the community," Thompson said. "He deserves that opportunity."